One of the magic things about movies is that, if one has the time, different versions of the same tale can be easily compared, making for excellent discussions with friends, particularly in a book club where five or six persons have all spent some time with Tolstoy's impulsive heroine; watchable versions started in the silent era (Garbo first making a silent version under the title "Love," and there was another curiosity turned out for the Oscar year 2012.
Vivien Leigh's Anna Karenina is a curious version with several strengths; within the time limits given, it attempts to expand the story beyond Anna and Vronsky, which the Garbo version does not, and Leigh exudes the neurotic side of Anna, while Garbo exemplifies the breathtaking beauty--is there anyone who could really be everything Tolstoy created? It's like trying to capture Emma Bovary on film! That said, with Leigh's nervous mannerisms at the fore, I kept expecting either Blanche Dubois to start attaching shades on the lighting fixtures or for Scarlett to tear down some olive drab velvet curtains, so indelibly Leigh has created two later screen heroines--it was hard to erase the impact of those potent cultural heroines.
Sir Ralph Richardson is an excellent fussy, bureaucratic Alexei, and poor Kieron Moore looks to not have a clue about much of anything. Of all four versions of Anna I've seen in the last weeks, this is the lesser, though still worth watching.
Vivien Leigh's Anna Karenina is a curious version with several strengths; within the time limits given, it attempts to expand the story beyond Anna and Vronsky, which the Garbo version does not, and Leigh exudes the neurotic side of Anna, while Garbo exemplifies the breathtaking beauty--is there anyone who could really be everything Tolstoy created? It's like trying to capture Emma Bovary on film! That said, with Leigh's nervous mannerisms at the fore, I kept expecting either Blanche Dubois to start attaching shades on the lighting fixtures or for Scarlett to tear down some olive drab velvet curtains, so indelibly Leigh has created two later screen heroines--it was hard to erase the impact of those potent cultural heroines.
Sir Ralph Richardson is an excellent fussy, bureaucratic Alexei, and poor Kieron Moore looks to not have a clue about much of anything. Of all four versions of Anna I've seen in the last weeks, this is the lesser, though still worth watching.